


Meeting

by Zimithrus1



Series: ClackWeek2018!! [3]
Category: Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Clack, First Meetings, M/M, Some Humor, clackweek2018, zakkura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 11:46:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15630057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zimithrus1/pseuds/Zimithrus1
Summary: Out on the town with a small group of friends, Zack Fair soon takes notice of a peculiar blond eating at a restaurant by himself. Curious as ever, he just has to know why.Clackweek2018 Day 3: Meeting





	Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Here's day three's prompt on the actual right day! Found some time today, so yeah, enjoy!

**Meeting**

* * *

 

“This toast is dedicated to Kunsel! Congrats on becoming a First Class SOLDIER!”

“Cheers!”  
“Hell yeah!”  
“I’ll drink to that!”  
“Wait, that’s what we’re here for?”

Voices rang out in unison as their full glasses of wine clinked together from every side of the table. Laughter was alight and everyone was in a stellar mood. The people toasting pulled their wine glasses back to them and each took a sip –either that or a long gulp.

“No seriously,” One of the voices spoke up, “We’re here for Kunsel? I thought this was some kind of double date.”

The one who had spoken was obviously joking, a smile on their face and a laugh in their voice. He had shaggy black hair that hung off his head like misaligned feathers and piercing green eyes showered faintly with a Mako blue glow.

“Yeah, you _wish_ , Sebastian!” The voice from beside the one now known as Sebastian spoke up. “But unfortunately none of _you_ guys are my type!”

The new voice that had spoken up was sitting right beside the black-haired man and had a wicked grin carved into his face. His short, spiky red hair fling up in every direction as if he had been electrocuted on the daily. His eyes were that of the brightest yellow their small group of four had ever seen and they were always alight with mischief.

“ _Whatever_ , Essai! We’re just out of your league!” Sebastian laughed.

“Especially _me!_ ” Another voice boasted.

The owner of this voice was sitting on the other side of the booth and had a large, smug grin plastered all over his face like sauce. He had short brown hair, but always wore a backwards ball-cap to cover up the fact he was already starting to bald at age twenty-two. His blue eyes danced in amusement in the restaurants’ classy –but dim, lighting.

“What, are you guys blind? Everyone knows _I’m_ totally the number one hottie out of all of us!” The last of the voices bragged.

“Ah…” Sebastian drawled, “…You’re an idiot, Zack.”

Zack, the owner of the last voice, burst out into laughter –the rest of the table following suit. The last man at the table had thick black hair that often shot out from his head in disarrayed spikes, kind of like a porcupine. His Mako blue eyes shone the brightest of them all, playfully dancing in the light.

They were all dressed in casual clothes –maybe a bit _too_ casual for a nice restaurant. But that didn’t really bother them. They were just a couple of good friends celebrating one of their other friends’ recent promotion. Everyone knew it took a lot of work, sweat, and tears to make it to First Class. It was a struggle they all knew like the back of their hands, all of the others already promoted to First many moons ago.

Kunsel was the last of them to make his way to the top of the food chain, so of course a celebration was in order! Plus, it wasn’t a real celebration without good food, good company, and good drinks!

“Man, I’m kinda torn about what to order… Sebastian muttered.

Essai leaned over his shoulder to peer at the menu the youngest of their quartet had opened. “What’cha torn between?” he asked.

“Either the salmon…or the filet mignon.”

“Woah!” Zack interjected quickly, “I know I said the food was on me tonight, but do you guys _have_ to always look at the most expensive things on the menu?”

“Only when it’s _you_ ~!” Essai sang as he batted his eyelashes at the eldest of their motley crew.

“Yeah! You make more than all of us put together!” Sebastian remarked.

“Only because I’ve been a first class for six years now!”

“Exactly! We _know_ you’ve got Gil to spare!” Kunsel brought up as he poked his friend’s ribs.

Zack groaned overdramatically and rolled his eyes. “ _Fine-!_ You’re just lucky it’s a special occasion tonight!”

“Sweet!” Essai cheered, “I’m _totally_ gonna get the lobster thermidor now!”

“Can’t _one_ of you take it easy on my poor wallet tonight?” Zack begged with big puppy dog eyes, “Can’t one of you order… I dunno, a grilled cheese or something?”

“A _Grilled Cheese_ sandwich… at _Benny Behemoth’s?_ ” Kunsel mused with a sideways grin.

“… _Yes~?_ ”

“Not a chance.” Kunsel said with a grin, now smacking his friend on the back.

“…I should’a known.” Zack sighed with a deflated tone of voice.

But the whole table was soon alight with hearty laughter, performing an elaborate ruse just for the hell of it. Eventually, they did settle on something to eat, and thankfully it wasn’t the most expensive things on the menu. Just moderately priced –and that had Zack singing on the inside.

Even if he did make the most out of all his friends, he liked hanging onto most of the money he made. He’d pleasure spent quite a bit, but lately he really hadn’t wanted to buy anything. Nowadays, he just enjoyed being out of the house; there was never anything or anybody waiting there for him.

After a while, it was just never fun to come back to an empty place.

He heaved a gentle sigh, thankfully able to mask the action quietly enough so his exuberant friends wouldn’t hear. He loved being around his friends, but it’s not like he lived with them. To be honest, he never really did like being alone. So he took these moments in stride and ate them up.

Sebastian and Essai started talking about a time when they played a prank on the Turks, Kunsel jumping in when he recalled that day as well. However, Zack had been out on a mission when that occurred so he missed out on that. Not really feeling like he was part of the conversation, the eldest SOLDIER turned his attention elsewhere.

His eyes glanced around the restaurant as he propped his arm onto the table and held his face in his hand. He could see a small family eating a nice meal together; a father wiping something off his daughter’s mouth and the mother appearing to chide her son for not finishing his meal.

In front of that booth, there was a couple sharing a single meal together. Apparently they were counting out change to see how evenly they could split the bill when it came. But they had a grin on each of their faces and didn’t seem to bothered by the cost of their meal.

At the table a few feet away from that booth, a group of girls were laughing and talking over their meal. Zack didn’t really know what they were talking about, but seeing the expressions on their faces, it was probably about the latest gossip or something stupid their boyfriends had done.

It was always a little fun watching how others reacted. Just to see parts of their stories play out in the same place as his own. Every person in this room would soon have a memory of this night and it would stick with them forever, look back on it and treasure it. He wondered how many strangers’ memories he appeared in from time to time.

Although, it looked as though not everyone would be leaving this place with a good memory. From a few booths ahead of his own and close to a window, he saw one man pushing around an appetizer with a fork –a very bored and perhaps sad look engraved onto his face.

For some reason, Zack couldn’t turn away –he just looked so disappointed. Why did he look so upset? He looked around the restaurant again; everyone else looked happy and they were all smiling. Everyone seemed content except for this one man who sat alone.

His wild blond hair masked one side of his face, and the one eye that Zack could see was both cerulean blue and blank. He seemed to be a little dressed up, but not completely business formal. He had on a white button up shirt with a black vest buttoned over it, and there was also a single wristband on his left wrist.

He watched as the blond pulled out his phone from his pocket, stare at something, then see him sigh and place his phone onto the table. He sat there for a moment, no longer poking his appetizer around. He sighed again, then poured himself another glass of what appeared to be wine before tipping it back and downing it all in a few gulps.

Zack put the realization together; the blond got stood up.

He wondered how long he had been waiting for his date to show up. Judging by the look on his face and the half empty bottle of wine next to him, it had been awhile.

He took a moment to phase back in to the conversation –his friends were still talking about the prank they pulled and they seemed to be really into it. He still didn’t feel like jumping in any time soon.

It was never any fun being stood up and eating alone on a Saturday night. Zack couldn’t say he knew the feeling, but he knew what it felt like to be alone and out someplace; it was a little awkward and quite isolating. So, he decided he’d go talk with the mystery blond.

“Gonna use the bathroom.” Zack said as he stood up from the table. He wasn’t sure if his friends would hear him over their loud laughter, but he figured he ought to excuse himself anyway.

Surprisingly, Kunsel glanced over at him and nodded with a faint grin. “Sure thing.” He noted.

Zack returned the grin before stepping away from the table. His friends could still keep talking and having a good time with just the three of them. But he didn’t like the thought of a nice looking guy getting stood up and having to sit alone for the rest of the night. To be honest, he’d probably do this with anyone –it was just in his nature to help others out however he could.

He walked a few booths down, slowing down a little bit when he got close. “Hey.” He called quietly when he was in earshot.

His voice must have startled the blond, because he ended up jumping slightly and he looked around quickly as if he had been caught snoozing in class. When his eyes finally gazed up at him, he was a little confused, but the blankness had completely vanished and that bright cerulean color was no longer clouded.

“Do I…know you?” The blond asked hesitantly.

“Mmm, probably not.” Zack responded with a big grin.

“Then _why_ are you talking to me?”

“Well, you looked like you could use some company.”

“Not necessarily. I should have company coming any minute now.”

“Hmm, I see…” Zack hummed in thought, placing his hand to his chin, “But how long have you been waiting for them? I imagine it’s been awhile.” He added as he glanced to the wine bottle.

The blond glanced away with a shameful blush burning across his cheeks, “It hasn’t been _that_ long.” He muttered as he clenched his fists on the table.

“So like…an hour?” Zack mused, gently leaning into the question with is hands now folded behind his back.

“…” The blond didn’t say anything at first, but then heaved a heavy sigh. “More like two and a half…” He mumbled.

“I see…” Zack responded with a thoughtful nod. He didn’t ask to join the blond or even ask if he wanted someone to talk to, he just plopped right down into the empty seat across from him and smiled.

“Wait… Are you a _stand-in_?” The blond asked with an arched eyebrow and a hostile tone of voice.

“A what now?” Zack replied.

“You know, a _stand-in!_ ” He shot back, as if Zack should already know what that meant. “Like, ‘Hey, I don’t actually like you so instead I’m just going to send in one of my friends in hopes to get you off my back?’ _That_ kind of stand-in?

“Wha-? _No!_ I’m not a stand-in!” Zack countered quickly, waving his hands around as he spoke.

“Well then, why _else_ would you be talking to me? Is this a prank or something?” The blond huffed, “…what a sick joke…” He muttered at the end.

“Woah, woah! Hey, listen Spiky, can I call you Spiky?”

The blond gave him a weird look as if he was a mix of annoyed and betrayed.

“This isn’t a prank, Spiky.” Zack said after clearing his throat, calming down on his joking tone.

“Then what _is_ it?” The blond –whom Zack temporarily dubbed ‘Spiky’, sighed. Until he learned the other’s name, it was going to be Spiky for now.

“Well… you just looked really… lonely.”

“…”

“And I got to thinking, ‘hey, it’s a Saturday night. Who wants to be alone on a Saturday night?’ because _I_ don’t normally like being alone on the weekends, I mean…”

Zack paused with a gentle sigh and glanced around the restaurant, a forlorn glow twinkling behind his eyes. Spiky followed his movements, looking in the same places he was but in a more crestfallen manner.

“…Who can possibly have fun on a night like this when they see they’re all alone and everyone else around them is smiling and having a good time?”

“…”

“So, I thought I might try and fix that.” Zack said, glancing back at Spiky’s direction with a very faint grin.

“…Well… you’re not wrong.” Spiky responded quietly, eyes trained to the table.

“So-, is this the first time this’s happened to you? Got date-duped, I mean.”

Spiky shook his head with a dismissively sad smirk on his face. “Nah. This is kinda a norm for me, if I’m being honest.”

“A _norm_? What’s up with that! You look like a swell guy to me!” Zack scoffed.

He wasn’t lying either. This blond-haired man had such a peculiar air about him. His appearance was so unlike any other he had ever seen before –even if blue eyes and blond hair were rather common in Midgar. He seemed interesting; a little meek, maybe a bit distant. Maybe a little tough on the outside, but nothing but squishiness on the inside. He seemed a touch insecure, but a lick of determined.

His voice was a little on the light side, a touch wispy, but it also sounded sure and set. He reminded the SOLDIER of a Tonberry; seemingly innocent and an interesting form of cute, but also not one to mess around with and would seriously bring the pain.

In fact, if Zack really thought about it…Spiky here was just his type.

From just the few minutes he had spoken with him, he was already hooked: The way he didn’t take shit from those whom he thought duped him, but also how he held his view of self in a damaged regard. He wasn’t helpless, but he wasn’t invincible either. Something about that air around him. He was the textbook definition of ‘enthralling’.

But he broke from his maladaptive thoughts when he heard Spiky chuckle, a bit of a sour tinge to the action. “That makes you a first…” He joked.

Zack could see the flash of hurt behind those cerulean eyes even though he had a sarcastic smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He didn’t know if it was the wine buzzing in his head, but he just wanted to crack a joke and kiss the blond while he was distracted. He subconsciously licked his lips.

“What do you mean _‘a first’_? Surely I’m not the first person to think you’re hella cute.” Zack smiled, the compliment coming out of his mouth before his brain could comprehend it.

Now there was a blush on Spiky’s face and his eyes nervously darted around the table, as if he was looking for a place to hide. He may look like he wanted to escape, but his body told otherwise. He wasn’t slouched in his seat or leaning away from the banter. Although flustered, he was still meeting him head-on and maintaining conversation.

If he hadn’t been the slightest bit curious, or interested, or whatever it may be, then Spiky would have told him to boot it quite some time ago. The fact that he hadn’t meant that he didn’t mind the company after all.

“That’s,” Spiky blushed, his voice slightly higher, “-not what I meant…”

“So then, I’m a first for thinking you’re probably the most interesting person I’ve ever spoken with?” Zack queried with another grin.

“N-Not like that either!” Spiky was full-on blushing now, “I meant that you’re the first person to think I’m not some kind of… weirdo.”

Zack stopped grinning and a small look of confusion settled over his face. “People think you’re weird?” He asked.

“I guess so… I mean, I have trouble keeping friends, I never can seem to get any dates either no matter which way I look, and after a while, the people who _do_ know me just… move on. So… I guess that makes me a weirdo, since, well… no one ever bothers just to talk with me…”

Silence fell over them for a moment, only the background noise of the restaurants’ clatter hummed faintly.

“Ugh, why did I say all that? I’ve had too much to drink…” Spiky groaned. “Sorry, you probably didn’t want to hear all that.” He said as his eyes connected with Zack’s.

“Hey, no need to apologize,” Zack dismissed with a flippant wave of his hand, “that’s what friends are for! To look out for one another!” He added with a chipper tone of voice.

“ _Me?_ Your friend?” Spiky quietly spoke. But then he started to laugh, his voice bouncing as he did so. “How can we already be friends?” He said in between laughs, “You don’t even know my name and I don’t even know yours!”

This had Zack laughing too, hard enough to where he couldn’t even stop to say his own name or introduce himself.

“Well, I guess I don’t mind being a weirdo then!” Spiky giggled, “Because _you’re_ one too!” He snorted before bellowing out with full-blown laughter.

“I guess – _haha_ \- I am!” Zack agreed with hearty laughter of his own.

Pretty soon Zack was wiping tears out of his eyes and Spiky was smacking the table with one of his hands. Some of the people in the restaurant looked over, but then went back to their own business when they realized what was causing the ruckus. When the two finally stopped laughing and regained composure, they just looked at each other with a big smile on their faces.

“Well, all laughing matters aside, I’m Zack.” He stated, holding his hand out with a grin on his face.

“I’m Cloud.” Spiky responded as he also held out his hand.

They shook hands over the table and grinned; not knowing that this was only the beginning of something wonderful that would span over the rest of their lives.

* * *

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the read~! <3 feel free to leave some comments or feedback if you want!


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